title: Mycoplasma pneumoniae intrathecal antibody responses in Bickerstaff brain stem encephalitis.
abstract: The pathogenesis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae encephalitis is not established. We report, for the first time, the case of a patient with severe Bickerstaff brain stem encephalitis in whom we detected intrathecal production of M. pneumoniae-specific antibodies, contrasting the findings in another patient with less severe encephalitis in whom we detected intrathecal M. pneumoniae DNA but no specific antibodies. Our observations suggest that intrathecal M. pneumoniae-specific antibody responses may contribute to a more severe course of M. pneumoniae encephalitis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Patrick M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Meyer Sauteur
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Relly
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hackenberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nikolai
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stahr
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Guido V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Bloemberg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Enno
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nadal
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009177:Mycoplasma pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial